Board discusses timeline for TV contract process

Thursday

Selectmen took one small step toward either renewing the town’s contract with Charter Communications in 2013 or finding another vendor for local television.

At the Feb. 22 board meeting, lawyer Peter J. Epstein, of the Boston firm of Epstein & August, offered the board an overview of the required process.

He said the contract with Charter expires July 21, 2013, which leaves the town at the start of a yearlong “ascertainment phase,” during which the town will decide what it wants from a provider.

He suggested a timeline that would have a request for proposals out April 1, 2012, and negotiations for a new contract starting two months later.

He said all negotiations and discussions by board members would have to be done in open session, because cable contract negotiations do not meet the standards for executive session. These negotiations would allow time for either a renewal with Charter or for a denial and resulting proceedings and “judicial review.”

Mr. Epstein said that during the ascertainment phase, selectmen should “talk to citizens and gather information” before putting together a request for proposals.

He said there are limitations, including that the maximum contract length allowed by federal law is 10 years, and the federal limit to the town is “5 percent of gross,” paid by Charter to the town semi-annually. Oxford receives 3.5 percent of gross revenue.

“Charter almost certainly passes the cost of this to subscribers,” Mr. Epstein said.

There is also a 10 percent discount to senior citizens who have basic cable, he said, adding that in the past, the discount has been as high as 20 percent and is negotiable.

Selectman John G. Saad said, “The senior discount is laughable” as it is approximately $1 per month.

Selectman Henry J. LaMountain said, “For 10 years, I have heard a lot about cable, good, bad and indifferent.”

Board Chairman Jennie L. Caissie said anyone interested in discussing the cable contract is invited to a March 8 hearing at 7 p.m. in town hall.

In other business, Mr. LaMountain encouraged interested residents and business owners to come to a meeting at 7 p.m. Feb. 28 at the Oxford Senior Center to discuss the nomination of the Oxford Center Historic District to the National Register of Historic Places.

Ms. Caissie said that “despite a lot of misinformation out there,” the designation is “nonregulatory” and would not restrict residents or businesses within the district and “may provide protections for private real estate from state and federal requirements. It is a nice designation for the town.”

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